Episode 2 – “You Have a Lot to Say to Me, Don’t You?” – April 13, 2022
Episode Summary
Despite the “no talking” rule, Yuichi Katagiri openly defies it. Although doing so increases his personal debt, it stops the initial debt holder from dumping everything onto Yutori Kokorogi. Additionally, Yuichi’s firm insistence that everyone must answer yes to the question “Will we be friends forever” guarantees the outcome.
Thus, Yuichi and his group successfully clear the Kokkuri-san Game. However, Yuichi has firmly planted the idea of there being a traitor into everyone’s heads.
While preparing to start the next game, Yuichi makes a big show of believing in everyone’s innocence and loyalty. Inwardly, though, he knows one or many of his “friends” are willing to throw the rest under the bus to win. Unfortunately, the moderators of the Tomodachi Game make it impossible for Yuichi to search for clues.
As the group moves on, Yuichi and Shio Sawaragi hang back to talk. They confess to one another they thought the other was the one who stole the original money. On top of that, Shio reveals that she has feelings for Yuichi, a comment that doesn’t go unheard by Tenji Mikasa.
The next game takes the group to a rooftop to play a classic Sugoroku Game. To advance on the board, the players must reveal a secret about someone. The magnitude of the secret determines how far a player moves forward. Luckily, if no one tells any secrets, the whole group goes up one space. The problem is each space results in a massive penalty to the debut.
Although everyone stays quiet at first, eventually, someone does start saying secrets. The friends quickly turn on one another, and things come to a head when a person reveals Shio’s crush on Yuichi. The group is teetering on the breaking point.
Episode Impressions
Yuichi’s cunning is preventing me from losing interest in this story. He is proving to be the monkey-wrench Tomodachi Game needs to stay exciting. However, he is fighting an uphill battle.
Frankly, a lot is going on, and it is challenging to keep track of it all. Although the games appear simple on the service, the rules surrounding punishments come off as convoluted. It also doesn’t help that a running joke has been for the series to flash a game’s instructions while expecting people to pause the episode and read them themselves.
To give you an example of what I mean, as I am writing this update, I have already forgotten what happens to the person who reaches the end of the board first.
But to bring everything back to what I was saying, I am curious to see how Yuichi will turn the game on its head. The problem is, I don’t think the strategy will hold Tomodachi Game until the end.
